The Omega Speedmaster first took flight in October 1962 when astronaut Wally Schirra orbited the Earth six times aboard the Sigma 7 capsule wearing his personal Speedmaster CK 2998. In 1965 Gus Grissom and John Young wore the first officially qualified Speedmasters on Gemini 3. After that, Speedmasters were issued to all subsequent crews. When Buzz Aldrin stepped off Apollo 11’s Eagle lunar module on July 21, 1969 wearing a Speedmaster, the Swiss watchmaker cemented its association with space exploration.
On May 30, 2020 the Speedmaster returned to orbit when SpaceX’s Crew Dragon launched NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley into space – the first time since 2011 that astronauts lifted off from American soil on American-made rockets and spacecraft. Bob Behnken rode into space on this historic flight as the mission’s Joint Operations Commander wearing his very own Speedmaster X-33.
Released in 1998, the original Speedmaster Professional X-33 was designed specifically for space travel. Known as the Mars Watch, the quartz timepiece included a touch system that could be used while wearing a spacesuit, a digital display that accurately tracked elapsed time from the beginning of the mission and an 80-decibel alarm, so it could be heard over the din of space travel.
The latest iteration of this chronograph is the 2014 Speedmaster Skywalker X-33, a 45mm titanium watch powered by an in-house multi-functional quartz chronograph movement. Where Behnken’s X-33 had a velcro strap for easy adjustment during the mission, the Skywalker X-33 has a titanium folding clasp with “Omega Speedmaster Professional” engraved on the clasp cover. The black dial features both analogue and digital displays. White indexes and markers surround hour and minute hands coated with luminescent Super-LumiNova and a backlit LCD display. The hands can be disengaged to allow clear reading of the digital display. Not only can the Skywalker X-300 track Mission Elapsed Time (MET), it also comes with a dedicated iPad app – true progress.
The Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 ($5,900.00) is available at omegawatches.com.
